Stress and appetite have an unusual connection. Each person responds to anxiety differently, but many people find that their anxieties cause them to develop appetite problems that affect not only the way they eat, but also the way they enjoy food. But if you're suffering from anxiety symptoms, there is no doubt that your appetite is affected somehow.
Appetite problems are never a standalone symptom. In fact, most people don't realize they have much of an appetite issue. They simply notice that they're eating differently while they deal with other anxiety symptoms. Appetite shouldn't be confused with digestion. Anxiety does cause digestion issues as well, but these are usually caused by other issues. For example, anxiety may make some people eat more or eat less. Some people go straight to food when they are stressed. While it's not clear what develops this issue, the reason for it is well known. When some people eat, they experience a flood of positive neurotransmitters—brain chemicals that cause them to feel good. Food and eating becomes a coping mechanism, so whenever these people become stressed they become hungry. Eventually, the idea of eating when stressed becomes conditioned. Namely, the body trains itself to crave food when it's suffering from anxiety.
On the other hand, anxiety may make people eat less. The reason why anxiety reduces hunger in some people maybe because the excess stomach acids simply create the “full” feeling for longer, and chemicals that signal hunger no longer reach the brain. Also, Serotonin or other of the different hormones and neurotransmitters are related to anxiety, digestion, and hunger, and all of these may be telling people's brain that you don't need to eat even though you're otherwise hungry.
Digestion is controlled by the enteric nervous system, a system composed of hundreds of millions of nerves that communicate with the central nervous system. When stress activates the “flight or fight” response in your central nervous system, digestion can shut down because your central nervous system shuts down blood flow, affects the contractions of your digestive muscles, and decreases secretions needed for digestion. Stress can cause inflammation of the gastrointestinal system, and make you more susceptible to infection.
Moreover, stress can cause the esophagus to go into spasms and can increase the acid in your stomach causing indigestion. Under stress, the mill in an individual stomach can shut down and make the individual feel nauseous. Stress can cause the individual's colon to react in a way that causes diarrhea or constipation. We are all familiar with the athlete or the student who has to rush to the bathroom before the big game or the big exam.
Common indigestions on individuals (humans or animals) are caused by an interruption of the digestive process. In some cases because there is an anomaly that might not be created by the food itself or the digestive system but by the individual mental stage, such as nervousness, stress, insomnia, etc. These digestion anomalies are pacified through chemical approaches such as anti-acid medicines, ulcer preventive medicines, and other substances. However, the individual may feel uncomfortable after taking the medicines, and the medicines may even generate some side effects to some individuals. Therefore, there remains a need for a new and improved method to treat digestion anomalies and overcome the problems stated above.